


Apple Tree Duty

by rangerdanger985



Category: Good Omens (TV), Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bodyguard, Alternate Universe - Human, M/M, Will add tags as I think of them, name changes throughout
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-23
Updated: 2020-07-03
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:07:32
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,705
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24868861
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rangerdanger985/pseuds/rangerdanger985
Summary: He sat against a wall, breath shuttering and hands shaking. Blood dripped in a scarlet line down the side of his face, he was in shock he knew he was. He could tell by the ringing in his ears, the distant echoing sounds like he was at the end of a deep tunnel.Closing his eyes, he rose a trembling hand with its bleeding knuckles and he made a fist, taking a deep breath and squeezing his fingers until they hurt and then he exhaled, his fingers uncurling he opened his eyes and looked at his now steady hand now calm.He inhaled once again, eyes narrowing and then he grabbed the gun from the floor, lurched to his feet and fired.
Relationships: Aziraphale/Crowley (Good Omens)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 15
Collections: Good AUmens AU Fest





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> https://danger-r-98-5.tumblr.com/post/621674055708311552/i-am-happy-to-announce-the-publishing-of-my-story
> 
> here is the link to the story cover.
> 
> this was fun to work on and I will be posting a second chapter soon! if y'all like it check out some of the other awesome creators in this event and show them some love!
> 
> RD
> 
> ps crowley has been renamed to Anthony James lee aka aj and Aziraphale is named Andrew Ezra fell, that is all.  
> RD

  


He sat against a wall, breath shuttering and hands shaking. Blood dripped in a scarlet line down the side of his face, he was in shock he knew he was. He could tell by the ringing in his ears, the distant echoing sounds like he was at the end of a deep tunnel.

Closing his eyes, he rose a trembling hand with its bleeding knuckles and he made a fist, taking a deep breath and squeezing his fingers until they hurt and then he exhaled, his fingers uncurling he opened his eyes and looked at his now steady hand now calm.

He inhaled once again, eyes narrowing and then he grabbed the gun from the floor, lurched to his feet and fired.

~5 days earlier~

“I don’t need a bodyguard!”

Anthony Justin lee stood in the middle of his apartment, half-dressed with messy hair and holding his phone to his ear.

It was one of his cousins on the other end, one of the few he could stand and could still talk to.

“don’t think you have much of a choice this time kid, Baz is getting tired of the company and this time its legit” Anthony rolled his eyes with a sigh “don’t call me kid, it’s been legit for eight years” he reached up and raked his hair back from his face, tying it into a tail “nah its legit kid” he did that on purpose that time

“and we all know your next in line on the will” Hester croaker was a very distant cousin that he didn’t see much and that was honestly lucky for him, Anthony would probably punch the man if they were talking face to face.

Again.

“Everyone knows I don’t want that shit, and don’t call me a kid! I’m 28 not 12”

“I can call you what I damn well please including an idiot, you’re getting the bodyguard end of story”

The sudden beep announced the end of the call and it made Anthony groan in annoyance. He actually thought about throwing his phone but knew it wouldn’t do any good, so he just shoved it into his back pocket and reached up to rub his forehead, he already had the beginning of a migraine and it was barely passed eight in the morning.

Muttering a curse, he walked to his bedroom in search of a clean shirt so he could get his day started, albeit on a less bright note than it began with.

Anthony J lee was just shy of his 29th birthday and had been named family disappointment when he was 12 and told his great aunt Suzy to go fuck herself after she chastised him about his hair and untucked shirt for the third time in two hours.

He had been disowned shortly after by all but a few of his cousins and his grandfather Devin who after dying when Anthony was 19 left his fortune 500 company to AJ and his cousin Baz.

The moment he thought about sitting behind a desk all day he nearly threw up and made it quite clear that he wanted nothing to do with the company but not everyone believed him and after receiving more than a few threatening letters he had skipped town, moving a few city’s away to settle in SoHo.

It wasn’t a bad place to live all things considered, he even managed to open a small shop to keep himself busy.

He was actually starting to enjoy his life; he should have known that something would go wrong.

Grabbing the first shirt that looked clean he pulled it on and left his apartment, the phone call had messed up his usual morning routine, so he was running late, or at least later than usual. It wasn’t like he really had set hours anyway, they were more like guild lines to be ignored.

Driving like a mad man, not because he was late but because he was a shit driver, he reached his shop on the other side of town and found it already open.

Surprised he looked at it for a moment before smirking and shaking his head, parking his prized Bentley in its designated spot before getting out and walking in. the woman standing behind the counter of the small coffee shop looked up and smiled until noticing it was AJ and her smile was replaced by a scowl.

“your late” anathema device said in a reprimanding tone, which was impressive given she was ten years his junior. He rose a brow at the woman before pick an apron up from the rack “I’m the boss” he reminded the woman as he tied it around his waist over his skinny jeans “I make my own hours”

The young woman rolled her eyes, leaning her hip against the counter and crossing her arms “you don’t have hours, you have insomnia because of the amount of coffee you drink” AJ stopped making his coffee and held up his hands “what’s the point of owning this place if I can’t partake in free caffeine”

He turned and narrowed his eyes at the woman, jabbing a finger in her direction “and don’t act as if you don’t do the same thing, I’ve noticed quite a drop in our express since you’ve started here”

Anathema didn’t look apologetic as she shrugged a shoulder and she had no reason to be, after all they had this same argument every morning. It was like a greeting now.

Finishing up his drink he turned and started walking bout the empty shop “so have I missed anything?” he questioned as he checked on the smattering of plants around the space, narrowing his eyes at a fern hanging by a window as he spotted what looked like a dying vine “not much, few of the usual’s came in already, the SoHo knitting club was sad to have missed you though” he shuttered and suddenly felt thankful for his cousins call which reminded him of said call and made him scowl.

A fucking bodyguard.

What would people think if he suddenly had some asshole in a suit hanging around?

Part of owning a good business was the positive impression laid upon the customers who then spread the word in their book clubs and knitting circles.

It was a domino effect and a bad experience could ruin a business faster than any spoiled coffee bean or bug ever could.

In his grousing he didn’t quite register when anathema said she was going to break as he stepped back behind the counter, he had just grunted. So, when he half heard the bell sound on the front door he was surprised when someone spoke to him.

“you look mighty perplexed” the sudden voice in front of him had him jumping slightly blinking owlishly up at the man on the other side of the counter.

And then blinking again as he realized what said man looked like.

Soft in the middle and with pale hair, what could only be an angel looked at him with quizzical blue eyes “are you alright?” the man questioned after a moment and AJ shook himself, pushing off the counter he had been leaning against to stand straight and smile at the man “sorry about that” he used his smoothest voice “just a bit caught in my own thoughts”

The blonde man nodded in understanding “happens to all of us” he said in understanding and smiled at AJ in a way that made his knees a little weak “what can I do for you?”

“well, I heard talk about this place around the office and thought I would come try it for myself” it wasn’t a new line, half of AJ’s clients said it but it still made him smile a bit to hear “well, all good talk I would hope” the blonde dipped his head, folding his hands in front of himself in a comfortable neutral position.

His blue eyes assessed AJ for a moment before he spoke again “largely so yes, but I am wondering just what a place called ‘Apples of Eden’ could be so famous for, I don’t honestly see what’s so special about coffee” the words were playful and AJ felt his small smile spread into a smirk

“well” he leaned his hip against the counter “you’ve never had our coffee; we can make anything your heart desires”

“is that so?” the blond asked, quirking a single brow and AJ hummed, nodded slowly and not taking his eyes away from the blonde “well then” he rose a hand to cup his chin them his lips twitched “how about an undertow?”

Crowley nodded “ is that it?” he questioned “to start” the man replied and gave AJ pause, he knew what an undertow was made of, a shot of milk below a few shots of expresso, anathema drank them all the time but it did have a kick.

Not that he was complaining, the customer was always right, and he turned to make said drink, using a small thick plastic cup so the pale milk was clearly visible below the layer of warm express he poured on top, using a chilled spoon so the layers didn’t mix.

The drink only took him a few minutes and he was turning back to the counter soon enough, presenting the drink to the man who looked back from examining the shop, nodding in appreciation at the drink which he then picked up and tipped back, drinking the small drink quickly and looking pleased before returning his gaze to AJ

“impressive” he said in a complimentary tone which made AJ’s toes want to curl in his boots “well give me something hard next time” the man chuckled and handed back the cup when AJ motioned so he could toss it in the bin by his knee “I think I’ll just settle for a chai latte this time, with caramel if you would be so inclined”

AJ nodded “you got it” he said and grabbed a cup from the stack “what’s the name for the order?”

“Fell”

AJ lifted his eyes “well, fell” he smirked as the blonde rolled his eyes “I’ll have it ready in a minute” he turned away and started on the drink which was by far simpler than the undertow and didn’t require quite as steady of a hand “you have an interesting shop” fell’s voice almost surprised him, making him come close to spilling steamed milk on his hand but practice and small cousins made it so he avoided the scalding liquid.

“well I pride myself on my originality” he said, grabbing the caramel sauce from its place in the corner turning back to the counter to set down the drink which fell picked up, admiring the pale foam and golden syrup for a moment before taking a sip shifting from foot to foot and smiling happily as he lowered it.

“so” he motioned with his hand as AJ leaned his hip against the counter again “the plants because of the name or the name because of the plants?”

AJ looked around at the different array of plants peppering the shop, the fern by the window, the spider plants of the shelf behind the counter, the potted palms by the door and couldn’t help his quirking lips “neither actually” he said before rubbing the back of his neck “the names cause of the apple tarts we have, wasn’t really my idea and the plant’s well” he tucked a stray strand of hair behind his ear, noticing the blonde follow the movement.

“long story short I lost a bet and found a hobby” fell look fully at him again and smiled “sounds like an interesting story” AJ shrugged “you said something about a tart?” that made him smile “want one?” he questioned “if you would be so kind” the man said and aj turned to grab a tissue to put the pastry in and when he turned back fell had pulled out a wallet “how much do I owe you?” he questioned and AJ hummed, placing the tart on the counter he turned toward the till “well let’s see, undertow, large chai latte and a tart. All together you owe me, one dinner”

He watched at the blondes head whipped up eyes wide and color slowly tinting his ears before he smiled, larger than the others he had flashed and closed his wallet “that’s a pretty steep price for dinner” he said in a teasing voice “how about desert?”

AJ smirked and leaned on the counter folding his hands and resting his chin on them “I say come back at eight fell, I have something I know you’ll love” the man smiled and picked up his drink and tart before turning away, walking toward the door but he paused and turned his head before leaving “my name is Ezra, by the way”

AJ smiled and nodded “mines AJ” he replied and watched a soft smile spread on the man’s face “aj” he tested the name before nodding “I’ll see you tonight” and with that, the man was gone and AJ let out a breath, leaning back against the wall beside a tall birds of paradise plant.

A few minutes later, after collecting himself, he saw anathema walk back into the shop from her break “so have you thought anymore about what I said?” she questioned making him raise a brow in confusion while handing an older man his plane coffee and three tarts “have you thought about working?” he jabbed back

She rolled her eyes as he expected her to “thought about what?” he asked while turning his back to the handful of customers enjoying their coffee and the free WIFI.

The woman shook her head, her high collared shirt slipping and letting him see a bruise forming on her throat, apparently, she spent her break with her boyfriend. “about that friend of mine? come on he is a literal angel and you will love him”

Aj shook his head with not a small amount of fondness for the woman but it was tempered with exasperation “I don’t need you to set me up on a blind date witch, I do just fine on my own” she scrunched her face up in annoyance, or maybe at the nickname he could never tell with her “oh really” she suddenly crossed her arms “when was the last time you went out?”

Now AJ smirked, matching her pose, he was a good amount taller than the woman but given that he was skinny as fuck and wore tight clothes she wasn’t intimidated “tonight as a matter of fact”

Her eyes widened behind her large glasses before narrowing suspiciously “when did this happen?” she asked and he snorted turning away from her “guess you don’t know as much about my social life as you thought” he said moving away to glare at a puny looking Christmas cactus.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is an explicit chapter, has the 2nd piece I drew for this fic and is NSFW as the pic depicts them getting busy against a wall, probably best not to read around delicate eyes.

At 7:30 anathema’s boyfriend showed up in his shitty blue car to collect the girl for their date night, the woman was still glaring at him, so he waved cheerfully when she walked out.

At that time of night, there were only a couple of people in the shop, one 18-year-old kid who was obviously a college student and using the WI-FI to do homework and one 63-year-old woman reading the paper while reclining in one of the plush seats.

They left at 7:48 and at 7:52 the door jingled open a final time to allow entrance to Mr. Ezra fell. AJ looked up from where he had been tending to a palm beside the counter and then looked at his watch “your early” he said to the approaching figure who came to stand beside him and lean against the counter.

“well, I could wait outside for” he checked his watch “seven more minutes if you’d like” AJ snorted and stood up, dusting his hands together “didn’t say it was a bad thing” he said before walking over, flipping the sign on the door while also lowering the curtains “how was the tart by the way?” he questioned to start a conversation.

“not bad” aj paused to look over his shoulder at the man “not bad?” he questioned, and Ezra rose his hands “pretty good actually, it’s been a long time since I’ve had one”

Aj rolled his eyes “pretty good” he huffed without any real heat “As if we don’t make the best apple tart in the city” the blonde tilted his head “Aren’t you the only one in the city that sells it?” aj waved his hand “semantics”

Ezra laughed, shaking his head fondly and AJ tried to keep from smiling “so” the blonde said when silence fell “what was this thing you knew I would love?” aj walked back behind the counter again “well, have you ever heard of affogato?” he questioned as he turned on the coffee machine, brewing a quick bit of expresso.

“it’s Italian isn’t it?” he questioned making aj nod as he opened the freezer under the counter pulling out a fresh pint of gelato “seems they got something right other than pasta and pizza, it’s delicious” he pulled out a scoop and put a healthy drop of the gelato into two glasses as the machine beeped the completion of the coffee.

Turning he grabbed the small pitched and poured the expresso over both servings of gelato, finishing it off with a sprinkle of chocolate shavings and a bit of chocolate sauce before picking both glasses up and walking around the counter to one of the small two-seat tables sitting both down and producing small spoons from his apron.

“you’ll love it,” he said as he sat down, watching Ezra do the same. The pale-haired man looked at the desert for a moment before taking a bite, eyes closed as he savored it, AJ watched, chin resting in his palm, to see how he would react.

When the silence stretched for a minute he could help asking “how is it?” to which Ezra looked up, lips pulled into a smile “scrumptious” AJ rolled his eyes at the word and took a bit of his own desert “I told you that you’d like it” he said.

Ezra hummed in agreement before putting down his spoon and folding his hands “I must say this is a lot of effort to go through just for a good yelp review” aj rolled his eyes again “I don’t do this for all my customers”

“well then” the blonde started and leaned forward a bit “why are you doing this?”

Aj rose a brow, giving him a dull look “are you that dense?” silently aj wondered if maybe bleaching his hair had damaged the man’s brain as there was no way anyone could have hair that naturally blonde but when the man started to smirk he wasn’t so sure.

“maybe I just want to hear you say it” AJ shifted in his seat his middle fluttering at the look in the blonde’s eyes “maybe I’m not that good at talking” the blonde hummed and AJ felt heat in his ears for some reason and lowered his eyes to the table.

This didn’t last long however as the sudden presence of fingers under his chin made him look up at blue eyes that were much closer now, he hadn’t heard the man move “well then” he started “maybe you should show me”

Without thinking AJ lunged up from his seat, his mouth colliding with Ezra’s almost too hard, the man didn’t seem to mind though his hands dropping to the other's waist as AJ’s hands fisted in his shirt.

This close AJ realized the man had a musty smell about him, like old books, it wasn’t a bad smell. After a minute they pulled away from each other, freezing and meeting each other’s gaze across the scant few inches between them.

Something unspoken passed between them, a question both posed and answered in the same breath before Ezra moved back in, meeting aj with equal force and raising a hand to cradle his neck.

The touch made him hum, leaning into it and letting the man plunder his mouth, he tasted like expresso and vanilla and had a talent that left AJ breathless when he finally pulled away. AJ watched the other's eyes open, heard him hum, and felt his thumb caress the edge of his jaw before Ezra’s hand slid back, catching the hair tie keeping his locks tamed and pulled it out slowly, pulling the strands over AJ’s shoulder at the same time.

“you have lovely hair,” Ezra said, combing his fingers through it and making AJ melt inside “it was the first thing I noticed about you” AJ licked his lips, clearing his throat to be able to speak somewhat normally “is that so?” he loosened his grip “usually the first thing people notice is my customer service”

The blonde chuckled, moving his hands from AJ’s hair to trail down his waist, pulling at the strings of the apron still tied around his waist “well your service does seem rather exemplary to me”

“I can’t tell if you're making fun of me” the blonde chuckled, untying the apron from AJs waist and reaching around him to place it on the table “never my dear,” he said while bringing his hands back to AJ’s hips, just resting them there, his thumbs sneaking under the edge of aj’s shirt.

Ezra moved back in and the heat of his lips combined with the heat of his touch made AJ stumble back, his back hitting the wall not far away from where they had been sitting. They parted chuckling lightly, AJ slumping against the wall while Ezra opened startling blue eyes to look at him,

“if you’re willing” Ezra said lowering his eyes to watch his fingers sneak under aj’s shirt, “I think I know something you’ll love” as the blonde's fingers started to sneak up ajs sides, dancing between the bottom of his rib cage and the edge of his pants aj realized that the blonde was turning his words against him.

And also that he was apparently waiting for permission to continue even though aj initiated this whole damn thing “very willing” he managed to squeak out, not that he would ever admit to making a sound like that, and he watched as the blond's lips pulled into a smile before he shifted forward and kissed him.

“Good to hear” he murmured when they pulled apart before sliding his hands up aj’s chest, hiking his shirt up and then pulling it off to toss to the side. Aj’s pale chest almost glowing in the light cast from the overhead lights Ezra's eyes traced the path his hands traveled, down his pecks and brushing over his abs in a touch that was damn near light enough to tickle.

He paused, however, at the dark mark on his side, his right hand moving to trace the winding body of the dark snake that AJ had gotten inked into his pale flesh on his 18th birthday, much to the further outrage of his relatives.

“I feel there’s a story behind this” Ezra said before lifting his gaze back to AJs face “but it's not my place to ask”

Aj snorted and wrapped his arms around the other man’s shoulders, pulling his closer “no story” he said leaning closer until their noses bumped “just a drunken bet”

The blonde hummed in disbelief blinking slowly before pressing their mouths together again, licking at AJ’s bottom lip and then biting lightly when he didn’t open up fast enough. The feeling made ajs guts clench and his lips part to release a breathy sound.

Ezra pulled back for a moment, inhaling before moving in again, hands sliding around aj’s waist to settle on his back, sliding up his spine to stop just short of a few strands of fiery hair as Ezra leaned forward, both pressing aj to the wall and slotting their mouths together, tongue flicking forward to tangle with AJ’s own.

Aj lifted his hands to tangle in pale hair, tugging for just a moment before trailing down over the man’s shoulders to slip under his jacket, Ezra hummed as aj slid his hands up and down his back, nails digging into the material of his pale blue shirt.

He grabbed a hand full of the material when Ezra pulled away from his lips and instead dropped his head to bite AJ’s throat, teeth sinking into the pale flesh there, causing the slowly spreading rosy tent of the flesh to darken.

He felt the blonde's hands move, his left hand sliding down while his right arm wrapped around his back, pulling him forward into his chest while at the same time his left hand slid under the waist of his skinny jeans to grab a hand full of aj’s ass through his boxers.

Aj inhaled sharply at the move, surprised by it before feeling the blonde abandon the space on his shoulder, moving instead to lave at aj’s Adams apple, following it when he swallowed to wet his dry throat.

The sudden pressure between his legs made aj realize the other was standing between his splayed thighs and was slowly grinding his hips forward against AJ’s.

“Ezra” he hummed as the man trapped him against the wall, rolling his hips in a way that really shouldn’t have been legal “yes dear?” the man hummed in reply against AJs throat “take this off” aj tugged at the blonde’s jacket.

He chuckled and removed his hands from ajs body but kept their hips pressed together, leaning back to shrug out of the coat and drop it to the floor, he followed it, however, hands quickly unbuttoning ajs jeans and pulling them down.

Aj watched, eyes wide as the blonde pushed the dark material down his thighs and calves, encouraging aj to lift a single leg at a time so he could completely remove them, taking the shoes and socks at the same time. His touch was surprisingly tender and once the material was gone the mand slid his hands back up aj’s pale legs, sliding his palms up the inside of his thighs.

The blonde didn’t raise his gaze higher than his hands and aj was glad for it, he wasn’t sure what would happen if those pale eyes pinned him as Ezra's body had done a minute ago.

Pressure on his thighs made him widen his stance and he watched as Ezra slid his palms up to the legs of AJs boxers, fingertips tickling at the border of flesh and material for a moment before continuing.

The feeling of the blonde’s hands rubbing over his clothed dick was surprising even with aj watching the mans moves like a hawk and made the redhead gasp quietly. Aj blew out a breath as Ezra palmed him and the blonde’s eyes finally flicked up to look at him, he didn’t know what he looked like, but his face felt warm which the blonde apparently approved of.

Or maybe the man just wanted to see AJs reaction when he leaned forward to nose at him, replacing his hand with his lips while his hands rose to the band of his underwear, the feeling even with the material separating them made aj’s hand shook forward to sing into soft pale hair.

Ezra’s eyes flicked up again, squinted slightly possibly with amusement before he leaned his head back and yanked the material down to aj’s knees before moving one hand away to wrap around his dick.

This gasp was louder, followed by a curse when the blonde leaned forward again to slide his tongue along his shaft “fuck” he hissed and more heard than saw the blonde smile “in a minute” he said before lifting something to his mouth and tearing it open with his teeth.

Aj was confused as to what it was, brows furrowing until the mans hand slid down his dick again, distracting him as the man shifted up a bit higher on his knees and then took the head of his dick into his mouth.

“Jesus!” aj said tightening his fingers and the blonde’s hair, making Ezra hum happily as he removed his hand and bobbed his head forward, the damp heat of the man's mouth making aj lean his head back, banging it against the wall by accident.

The sudden darkness of the shop made him wonder if he gave himself a concussion before he remembered he had the lights on a timer in case he forgot to turn them off, more a precaution than something that was actually needed as he never forgot to turn the lights off but it was good to see the damn thing worked.

He was brought back to the present by Ezra sinking a bit lower onto his dick, gagging slightly when AJ’s hips stuttered, he was about to apologize when the crinkling of foil made his brows furrow, followed by a sudden slick pressure against his ass, Ezra's thumb rubbing against the ring of muscle.

“sneaky fucker” he muttered before his back bowed was one of the man's fingers slipped inside. The feeling of being breached wasn’t a new one to AJ, after all, he’d had it, and been had, both ways, but the dual sensations if it and of Ezra's mouth bordered on too much.

Opening eyes he didn’t realize he had closed, he looked down at Ezra and saw the man’s pale eyes all but glowing as they caught the light of the streetlamp sneaking thought the gap in the curtains. Their eyes locked and aj swallowed again, lips parting as a second finger pressed inside, moaning at the stretch and letting his eyes fall half-closed he dug his fingers back into Ezra's hair making him hum in approval before pulling away.

Aj slid from his mouth with a pop and he barely had time to miss the man before he was standing, hands pressing ajs shoulders into the wall before slamming their mouths together in a kill that was all tongues and teeth, making aj moan again and reach out.

His hands grasped the front of Ezra's pants, unfastening them so he could untuck the man’s shirt and get him into a similar state of undress as aj but he’d barely gotten them unfastened and shoved down when the blonde pulled away, hands dropping to ajs hips and lifting.

The redhead gasped as his feet left the ground, reaching out the wrap his arms around the blonde’s shoulders and spreading his thighs to wrap his legs around his waist so he wouldn’t fall he was suddenly pinned to the wall by the other man’s hips.

Ezra paused, allowing aj a moment to realize what was going on before he moved in, kissing aj tenderly making him relax and slide one hand back into Ezra's hair.

When the blonde pulled away aj huffed quietly “you’re too good at that” he muttered, peeling his eyes open to look at him, noticing the way the light caught his pale hair and made it glow, the other man looked damn near otherworldly.

A chuckle pulled aj from his thoughts “if you like that” Ezra muttered before leaning in and kissing him again “you’ll love what’s next” aj’s brows furrowed as his thought process wasn’t what it normally was at the moment but then the realization hit him like a brick and his eyes widened as something hot and slick nudged at his ass.

Ezra rocked back and forth, cock sliding along the crack of ajs ass a few times until aj tightened his hold in blonde hair, making Ezra's eyes return to ajs face “stop teasing you fucker” his voice rose in pitch as the head of his dick slipped inside.

The blonde’s hands shifted, grabbing his ass and spreading his cheeks, steadying him against the wall as he started to rock forward, slipping deeper into the redhead. “Christ” aj muttered, leaning his head against the wall and arching his hips to make the slide easier, moaning quietly as Ezra slid further inside.

When he bottomed out Ezra slid his hands down aj’s legs, fingers digging into his thighs and making his legs relax, he nudged his forehead against aj’s and held still “are you alright?” he questioned

Aj opened his eyes meeting the others gaze “I'd be better” he muttered “if you moved”

Ezra's lips pulled into a smile that could only be described as evil “as you wish”, aj didn’t have time to think on just what that smile meant as suddenly he rocked back, keeping aj pinned to the wall with a steady grip and shoved his hips forward.

The sudden bolt of pleasure made his toes curl, his head leaned back, and his back arched as the warmth rushed through his body, his cock trapped between them and twitching. His lips fell open as Ezra shifted his stance and hit his prostate with every other thrust, moaning shamelessly.

He was embarrassed to say that he knew he wouldn’t last long, the blonde was just to otherworldly, still mostly dressed while aj was completely bare, at the mercy of his large strong hands. He grunted as he felt the blonde’s lips return to his throat, teasing at his pulse with blunt teeth.

“Ezra” he whined “I-I’m not gonna… I- ooh” he broke off into a moan as the man shoved forward again, skin slapping together loudly in the still shop air “hush dear” Ezra mutter against his throat before lifting his head “I’ve got you”

AJ whined at the words then felt one of the man's hands move, slipping between them to wrap around his weeping cock “ngk~” his eyes squeezed shut as the warmth grew, his abdominals clenching, pulling a moan from the blonde as his muscles tightened around him.

It didn’t take much, a particularly hard thrust to his prostate along with a tight stroke on his cock had his back arching off the wall, grip tightening on Ezra's shoulder and in his hair and mouth falling open on a cry he would never admit to making, he spilled himself between them, sticky fluid coating his belly and Ezra's hand.

“oh fuck, fuck Ezra, Ezra” he cried as the blonde continued to hammer into him, drawing out his orgasm while chasing his own,

When he felt the warmth spreading inside himself and felt Ezra bight down on the shoulder, he had buried his head at aj cried out again legs wrapping around Ezra’s waist and pulling him close, encouraging him to continue rocking into his body.

When the blonde finally slowed to a stop, pressing aj fully against the wall as he slumped forward, he was almost whimpering. Pulling away from the redhead’s shoulder Ezra slotted their mouths together again sliding his palms up the sides of aj’s waist and then back down again almost in a comforting gesture “angel” he murmured when they finally parted causing the blonde to huff.

“Think you can stand?” he questioned spurring aj to open heavy eyes to look at him “only one way to find out” he replied and untangled his long legs from the others waist, legs tingling as if they had fallen asleep. Ezra kept a firm grip on his waist while lowering him to the ground but aj didn’t complain as he wasn’t actually sure he could stand on his own quite yet.

Once his feet touched the ground the tingling got worse, changing to pins and needles but he ignored it “I think your affogato melted” aj nodded toward the table a short distance away and watched the blonde's lips quirk up at the edges “I got something better”

AJ huffed, feigning insult and smacked the blondes shoulder lightly “I don’t know if I should be insulted or take that as a compliment so I’ll take it as both” Ezra chuckled, thumbs tracing over AJ’s hip bones “rest assured it was fully complemental” he said before leaning forward and kissing AJ again.

With another huff he leaned into it, he knew their night would soon be drawing to a close so he intended to enjoy what he could get.

~0~

When he got home later that night, he was tired and his eyes were heavy, he barely managed to force himself into his shower and afterward he couldn’t be bothered to put on clothes, instead just crawling into bed and relaxing against the pillows.

He was almost asleep when he suddenly cursed and glared at the ceiling.

He never asked for Ezra’s number.

Damn it.


	3. unhappy reunion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> after this update, I will be slowing down because fulltime college student, also because I might be reworking a section or two of this because I don't like the way the next chapter flows.
> 
> I will update as soon as I can but it may come slowly depending on life and which fandom I get pulled into and what projects I take on. If you have any questions hit me up on Tumblr and I'll be more than happy to answer them =)
> 
> enjoy!  
> RD
> 
> PS I will be starting to use chapter names (mostly as a roadmap for myself) because I'm writing scenes/chapters based on the overall emotion/mood I'm aiming for, for that chapter so take that for what it is =)

Come morning, bright and early at 3pm AJ was walking into an uptown office building two hours from home and twenty minutes late for a meeting he didn’t even want to attend but if he didn’t his cousin would hunt him down and drag him to anyway.

The office he was aiming for was on the 9th floor in a corner and behind double oak doors. The last time he had been on this floor, let alone this building he had been 17 years old and he still didn’t like it even though it had obviously been redecorated when Baz took over.

It just felt so fake, but then again with a business that focused on advertising and tempting people to waste their money on stupid shit what would one expect?

Throwing open the double doors without even glancing at the receptionist or knocking aj sauntered into the office “alright Hester” he said “what’s so blasted important I had to drive all the way out here on a weekday, I have my own business you know”

Hester, a man of 38 though you’d never know it by the silver hair and frown lines rolled his eyes “your late” AJ rolled his own eyes in response and shoved his hands in his pockets “yeah, m25 is a nightmare coming out of SoHo” he moved forward and slumped into one of the seats in front of the desk “now why did you drag my ass all the way out here?”

“its about that bodyguard I mentioned yesterday” Hester said, his signature frown appearing on his face “you finally realized how stupid the idea was?” aj questioned.

“Anthony” he frowned at the use of his first name “the threat is real, you are next in line whether you like it or not, you remember why you left last time” AJ didn’t let himself shudder at the mention of the death threats he had received “yeah and I still don’t want it, you take over when Baz retires you’ve already got the office” AJ motioned at the room.

An aggravated sigh let him know he was getting on Hester’s nerves “listen kid my name isn’t on the papers, whether I take over or not your ass is still in the fire and you know the second the hot seat comes up for grabs our relatives will be itching to dispose of you”

“said as if they aren’t already”

Hester rolled his eyes and sat back in his seat “with your personality that’s not surprising” AJ scowled at his cousin but was distracted by a softly clearing throat from behind him “speak of the devil” Hester said and pushed up from his seat while AJ just slumped further in his own.

His cousin kicked the chair unceremoniously and he groaned but pushed himself up “Anthony, meet your bodyguard Andrew fell with the guardians” AJ rolled his eyes, ignoring the tickle at the back of his brain at the familiarity of that name.

“take about an ironic fucking-” he suddenly cut off as he turned and saw the man standing in front of his cousin looking very uncomfortable in his tan jacket and khaki slacks, looking very soft and really fucking familiar “Ezra?!” he demanded just as the blonde's eyes widened “aj?” he echoed.

Hester looked between them brows furrowed in confusion before shrugging to himself and looking at AJ “forgot you went by that” he said.

Aj ground his teeth together, not taking his eyes off of the blonde who was now fidgeting slightly “I don’t see how” he growled before his eyes snapped to the man “you refuse to call me anything other than kid or that stupid nickname” Hester looked slightly affronted “you liked the name” he huffed before looking at Ezra “I suppose you’ve met?” man was too damn observant for AJ’s good.

“yes, I visited his shop yesterday” Hester’s brow perked “you went to that swill shop?” AJ growled in anger, even if Hester was just teasing, he wasn’t in the mood for it “that ‘swill shop’ is my business, and yeah he came in yesterday but you sure he can guard anything?” AJ nodded at the blonde’s hands which were folded in front of himself “manicure like that doesn’t look like he worked a day in his life”

He turned angry eyes to his cousin “I am not agreeing to this, I don’t need a fucking bodyguard!” he said then stormed out of the room, throwing the doors open and nearly plowing into bez’s secretary, or Hester’s at the moment, on the way out.

AJ made the usual 2-hour drive home in about an hour and a half, ignoring most of the speed limits and making his beloved Bentley roar like he wanted to. When he got to his apartment he marched inside and slammed the door, stripping out of his clothes and stepping into his shower, letting to hot water pound his back until it went numb.

His chest hurt, he didn’t understand it, one night together and he was that far gone, it didn’t make sense, but he felt betrayed like the man only came into the shop to assess his most recent assignment.

It honestly made AJ feel like an idiot, all but throwing himself at the blonde when the other obviously didn’t give a shit about him aside from a paycheck.

He was so fucking stupid.


	4. Chapter 4

When he got out of the shower, after the water ran almost cold, he picked up his phone, saw two missed calls from Hester and about 12 from anathema.

One could guess who he texts back ‘sorry’ he wrote ‘not coming in today’

Exactly one minute after sending that message his phone started vibrating with an incoming call, anathema.

Cursing under his breath he hit the green answer button.

“are you ok?” odd first question but she wasn’t bitching at him so he’d take it as a win “yeah” he muttered, wrapping a towel around his waist, no use dripping all over his floor “just don’t feel that hot” he heard the woman make a sound of concern “did you get stood up last night?” she questioned, knowing how soft her boss refused to admit to being.

AJ snorted “I wish” he muttered before shaking his head, wet hair sticking to his skin “listen I just don’t feel that hot right now, go ahead and close up the shop, if I feel like it, I’ll come in later, take care of the plants”

Anathema made a disbelieving sound, but the woman had known him long enough not to push too much, she actually did like her job “alright, feel better asshole” he rolled his eyes at the soft way the insult was said “I’m fine witch, just, need some sleep”

The woman hummed, still disbelieving but let it go, instead, saying her goodbyes and hanging up.

Sighing he tossed his phone onto his desk and sank back into his ornate office chair, slumping down and scowling out the window as water continued to drip down his chest from his hair.

Eventually, it annoyed him, and he stood up, intending to grab a new towel from his bathroom but halfway there a knock on his door made him pause. Very few people knew where he lived and even fewer would dare to disturb him.

It was nothing personal his apartment just gave off that vibe.

Confused he walked to the door and looked through the peephole groaning and nearly slamming his head against it when he saw who was on the other side, what was that Hester had said about speaking the devil's name and the devil appearing.

Although, with as pale as Ezra’s hair was, he didn’t look like the devil.

Was just as tricky as one though.

“AJ?” the man said, not raising his voice in the hall but still audible given he stood by the door “I know you're there, open the door” the man was the picture of calm and it anything but calmed ajs anger and annoyance and hurt.

Curling his lip, he turned away “it’s unlocked, open it yourself” he said walking back to his bathroom, grabbing another towel to start aggressively drying his hair. He heard his door open and then close softly “aj?” he sounded confused but aj didn’t care “how do you know where I live?” he questioned.

Ezra turned, calm smile freezing “good lord” he said and spun back around “your uh, cousin gave me your address” Crowley frowned “of course, fucking toad” he hissed before throwing the towel he’d used on his hair back into the bathroom “what the fuck do you want?” he asked.

“Mr croaker hired me because there have been threats against your life with the upcoming retirement of the head of apple tree advertising” Ezra paused and glanced back at AJ “which was a very interesting name”

AJ snorted “it’s a stupid name also you said there’ve been threats well guess what” he walked over to a small table and yanked open a drawer, motioning to it with one hands “that’s nothing new”

Ezra moved closer, looking into the drawer that was stuffed full of envelopes, he didn’t open any of them or touch them but it was safe to assume they all held threatening letters “I've been getting this shit since my grandfather died and I’m still around so I don’t need a bodyguard” he turned away walking down the short hall toward his room.

“wait you’ve been receiving these for years?!” the man sounded honestly affronted, aj didn’t know why he wasn’t receiving them “is that not what I just said?” he questioned, brow scrunched in annoyance as he glanced over his shoulder.

Shaking his head he stepped into his room and dropped his towel, beyond the point of caring “oh dear” he heard from the door of his room and glanced back to see the blonde looking away with his skin flushed.

“to have received threats for this long even with making your stance on your claim to the company known means they aren’t giving up. Can you please put some pants on this is a serious discussion?!” aj glanced over his shoulder again, pausing in the perusing of his underwear drawer “what, it’s not like you haven’t already seen me naked” he bit out while pulling a pair on, looking to land a blow.

From the flinch he received he obviously did “yes but I wasn’t working then” the blonde said, gaze downcast and off to the side which honestly just pissed him off “working?” he said with clenched teeth, hand fisted in the pair of jeans he had been about to put on “your not working now!” he said and yanked the pants on, grabbing a shirt from the stack on his dresser before spinning around and marching forward.

“But how’s this, make everyone’s life a bit easier, your fired now get the fuck out of my apartment!” he marched away.

Yanking his shirt on he shoved his feet into a beat-up pair of trainers before leaving the apartment, slamming the door on the way out. He knew it was stupid to yell for someone to leave before leaving himself but he could be forgiven he was having a shit day.

Knowing that driving would be a horrible idea, and also knowing he pushed his beloved Bently hard enough already he started marching down the sidewalk, melding into the crowd and generally ignoring the fact that humanity existed.

He wanted to be alone to sort his thoughts out, both angry and hurt and so he was walking to his shop.

It was about a fifteen-minute walk which was faster than driving only because his car couldn’t fit down some of the paths he took, not that if it did fit it would be legal to drive there but that was beside the point.

His shop was just coming into view when there was a call from behind him, having calmed down a bit in the fresh Soho air, which wasn’t actually that fresh in the shopping district, he turned around to see Ezra walking forward.

So much for his calm “are you following me?” he questioned in annoyance to which the blonde looked bashful for a moment before nodding “yes, its what we do but I was keeping my distance”

“follow people?” aj demanded before reaching up to rub his face “you know what whatever, why were you even following me, I fired you!” the blond lifted a single shoulder “technically you never hired me, Mr croaker did so you can't fire me”

Like a switch flipping the blonde straightened up, face smoothing into a serious expression “I just kept my distance so you could calm down”

That flipped ajs switch “calm?!” he demanded, loud enough to turn a couple of heads on the people walking by “I am perfectly calm but I just don't know how many more times I'm going to have to say this shit” he walked a little bit closer “no matter what my mouth breathing cousin says I am not a kid, I am not in danger-[ and I don’t need a fucking bodygu~”

A sudden crash and bang and suddenly the blonde was moving, faster than anything aj had even seen the blonde grabbed his arm and yanked him to the ground, pressing him between the door and then his own body as what could only be gunshots rang out a short distance away.

Screams echoed around them and then a loud bang like an explosion was followed by squealing tires. Silence for a few seconds allowed the blonde to move, glancing around the hood, with his view no longer obstructed by the blonde's chest he noticed Ezra had a gun in his hand.

Where he got it from he had no idea.

“what was that” the man said before looking at him “about not being in danger?” trying very hard to stay calm aj glared at the blonde “that may have been close but it wasn't aimed at me” he said.

Ezra looked to the side brows risen then looked back at where people were gathering “you sure about that?” he questioned, shoving his gun under his coat and then the man held out a hand, lifting aj to his feet as he took it, making the man grunt and then he looked toward the commotion to see.

His entire world shattered across the street on fire.

His shop, the building he had been about to walk into had era not caught up to him, the business that would have been full of knitting circles and collage kids and anathema was on fire, belching black smoke up into the sky, windows busted and pieces of chairs and tables and plants blown out into the street smoldering.

Someone attacked his business.

Someone destroyed something he built with his own hands.

His chest hurt “now do you think you need me?” Ezra questioned as sirens were heard in the distance “fuck off” his voice shook.

Aj couldn’t breathe.

He jumped at the sudden hand on his shoulder “we need to get you out of here” Ezra spoke softly before putting his hand on aj’s arm and pulling gently “come on, you don’t want to be caught here”

He allowed the blonde to turn him, walking beside him for a moment before glancing back one last time, eyes filled with the shattered pieces of his hard work before turning away and ducking his head.


End file.
